Texans lose despite a heroic effort from Deshaun Watson
The good, bad and ugly from the Texans loss to the Eagles
The Texans fought through a determined Eagles team to secure the AFC South Division crown, but fell short in a 32-30 loss to the defending champion Eagles in Philly. Here's how I saw it:
The Good
- Deshaun Watson lived up to ALL the hype in this game! He put the team on his back and tried to will them to victory. Sure he messed up a few times, but he also accounted for all four touchdowns. His second touchdown pass helped put them up 30-29 with two minutes left.
- Jadaveon Clowney came up with a huge strip sack and fumble recovery that led to Watson's early go ahead touchdown run in the second quarter. He beat the backup left tackle on a speed rush, and then hit Foles right on the arm to strip him. As he wrapped him up and slung him to the ground, he found the ball and recovered it.
-Benardrick McKinney is trying to live up to his $50 million dollar extension and recent Pro Bowl selection with his performance. He made two athletic plays: a pass breakup in the end zone and a juggling interception.
The Bad
-Dylan Cole misplayed a wheel route on 4th down and Justin Reid missed a tackle that allowed Darren Sproles to score a 37-yard touchdown. The communication seemed slightly off before the snap which is why I believe Cole misplayed it, but I don't know why Reid didn't bring Sproles down instead of trying to strip the ball.
-Tyrann Mathieu was burned for an 83-yard touchdown by Nelson Ahgolor. He was beaten deep, recovered, but failed to knock the ball away. When he stumbled in attempt to bat away the pass, Ahgolor made a house call.
-The Eagles passing attack made the Texans secondary look like the one playing with a bunch of backups. Foles went 35 of 49 for 471 yards and four touchdowns. He hit his tight end Zach Ertz for 11 catches with 90 yards and two of those four touchdowns.
The Ugly
-More brain farts in scoring range stalled the second drive of the game and helped seal their fate in the fourth quarter. Watson took an unnecessary sack on both drives. One ended with a field goal, the latter ended in an Eagles recovered fumble. This is getting old and I'm tired of writing it every damn game!
-Kareem Jackson went down with a knee injury and Jonathan Joseph went down with a neck injury. But when receiver Demaryius Thomas went down and was carted off, it was heartbreaking. The other guys may be back at some point, but Thomas appears to be done for the season.
-Refs missed a facemask on two point conversion by Clowney. He clearly grabbed Nick Foles' facemask. Eagles' defensive end Brandon Graham got called for a horrible roughing penalty against Watson. But the call on Clowney with 1:38 left was the worst! Had he not lowered his helmet, they would've flagged him for helmet to helmet. Refs have an impossible job, but they still suck balls at doing it.
The Texans came into this game with an opportunity to secure the division crown. They ran into a more desperate team that needed this win more than they did. They now need the Patriots to lose next week in order to get the two seed.
